A Puzzle by Radler
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
One doesn't expect a Radler crossword to be easy and this one was definitely at the tougher end of his difficulty spectrum. All the solutions are multi-word answers
Across
1a Steady feet on la bicyclette? (5,3)
LEVEL OFF: Two lots of the abbreviation for Foot (feet plural) go on or after another name a French person might call their bicyclette (2,4)
5a Perhaps appreciated Ed abandoning pest (3,3)
MAY BUG: An informal expression meaning perhaps appreciated [maybe dug] without (abandoning) the E and D
10a I follow shot singer (3,2)
GOT IT: A short or attempt at something and a singing bird
11a Roughly poke dead fish (4,5)
CAST ABOUT: An abbreviation meaning about, roughly, a verb meaning to poke and a synonym for dead
12a Without top, arousing with porn - don't overdo it! (3,6)
NON TROPPO: A synonym for without and an anagram (arousing) of TOP with PORN
13a Slice from right foot, Donald to acknowledge (3,2)
NOD TO: Hidden in reverse (from right) in foOT DOnald
14a Totally exhausted after verbal exchange (2,3)
IN ALL: Exchange the two words from a way of saying exhausted
15a "Uncovered twenty two" witness said "left on boat" (4,2,3)
WENT TO SEA: The inside (uncovered) letters of tWENTy and homophones (said) of TWO and a verb meaning to witness
17a American bars bottle filled with liquid here (4,5)
BEER HALLS: A slang word meaning courage (bottle) ‘filled’ with an anagram (liquid) of HERE
18a Leave house next to mine (3,2)
HOP IT: An abbreviated house next to a mine
19a Hoovered up inside by one at Kindergarten? (3,2)
ATE IN: A synonym for by and the German (used in a Kindergarten) word for one
21a Bachelor has skin disease, unmarried daughter to report (5,4)
BRING WORD: The abbreviation for bachelor and a nasty skin disease without the abbreviation for Married which is replaced by the abbreviation for Daughter
24a Self-styled? Remarkably it is, and creatively (3-6)
SOI-DISANT: A synonym for remarkably, very, and an anagram (creatively) of IT IS AND
25a First to appease Major, second in agreement (2,3)
AT ONE: The first letter of Appease and a musical term for a major second
26a Constrained by conceit say, worried shopaholic heir's conclusion? (4,2)
EASY GO: An anagram (worried) of SAY inserted into conceit or self-confidence
27a As swingers go, mostly randy drunk chaps unduly grabbing female (2,3,3)
TO AND FRO: An anagram (drunk) of most of RANDy inserted into a synonym for unduly, the abbreviation for Female being ‘grabbed’
Down
1d Sign name to gain access (3,2)
LOG ON: A sign and the abbreviation for Name
2d Majority crossing yard to sound of bell (6,3)
VOTING AGE: A crossing where the abbreviation for Yard is replaced by the sound of a bell
3d Unorthodox deliberation after island parliament takes stock (7,8)
LATERAL THINKING: A synonym for after and the parliament of Iceland ‘takes’ stock in the sense of family
4d Absolutely nothing caught by above competition (2,3)
FA CUP: An abbreviated slang way of saying absolutely nothing, the cricket abbreviation for Caught and an adverb meaning above
6d From the beginning he stops fidgeting, starting unnaturally (7,3,5)
AGAINST THE GRAIN: From the beginning and an anagram (fidgeting) of STARTING into which is inserted (stops) HE (from the clue)
7d Not the greatest way to wipe round gold counter (1-4)
B-ROAD: A reversal (counter) of a verb meaning to wipe gently going round the heraldic word for gold
8d Speed visit, having nothing fixed (2,3,4)
GO TOO FAST: Visit (2,2), the letter representing nothing and fixed or firm
9d A war poet cycled once (2,4,2)
AS SOON AS: A (from the clue) and a war poet whose name is ‘cycled’
14d Who knows I'm here? Houses to attend (2,5,2)
IT BEATS ME: An informal way of saying I’m here (2’1, 2) ‘houses’ a two-word phrase meaning attend
15d Swine enticed dullard by lipreading (4,4)
WILD BOAR: Homophones (by lipreading) of a verb meaning enticed and a dullard
16d Switch positions after drink: hot milk (6,3)
SIPHON OFF: The positions of switches go after a verb meaning to drink and the abbreviation for Hot
20d With these pictures Ben could make allowances (1-4)
E-FITS: If you put BEN in front of these electronic pictures of criminals, you would get some allowances
22d Split up anything from Lancashire and six other counties (2,3)
IN TWO: A reversal (up) of a Lancashire dialect word meaning anything and the abbreviation for a group of six other counties
23d As a result of affaire d'honneur, Tom backs off (3,2)
DUE TO: An affaire d’honneur and TOm (from the clue) without their last letters (backs off)
The enumeration in 25ac should be 1,4
*** I mean 2,3 – sorry
Now fixed. Apologies for missing that.
This has utterly defeated me. When I started 1a & 1d went in immediately and I thought that this was going to be the easiest Radler puzzle ever. How wrong can one be? After an hour, I had struggled to enter just two more answers and I decided enough was enough. In cricket terms, I am retiring hurt.
My only sensible comment was going to be ask why all the answers apart from 25a were multi-word. Now I see that that one was wrongly enumerated!
Thanks Radler for a sound beating.
We decided to give it a go even though we had seen the compiler’s name!
Like Rabbit Dave we were utterly defeated and only completed two answers without revealing letters. Even then we couldn’t always understand the answer from the definition! No more like this, please, Radler. Have some pity on us mere mortals. We shall read the review with great interest tomorrow.
How clever! Radler wins again.
ps I thought that 25a was going to be significant in solving the puzzle, as it was the only single word answer in the grid.
But I now see that the enumeration was wrong. Oh Dear! (2,4)
Phew. It’s not often that you solve an Elgar on Friday and then are faced with an even tougher puzzle the next day. I always enjoy the struggle with Radler and this was one of his most fiendish with every clue needing a lot of deciphering.
There are 3 clues I can’t fully parse (5a, for which my initial thought of ‘gas bag’ for pest didn’t work out), 25a and 22d.
Ticks from me for 19a, 21a, 2d, 3d, 9d, 14d and 20d.
Many thanks to Radler.
[I think one of the letters in the 3d answer is wrong]
So much for our usual Sunday morning walk. This kept us occupied for so long that we used up all our available time. Very satisfying to eventually get a filled grid although, like Gazza, there are a couple of parsings that eluded us.
Thanks Radler.
14dn – I’ve cetainly not 9ac.
Many thanks to CS for explaining the answers I couldn’t parse and thanks again to Radler for the brain-mangling entertainment.
Thank you to crypticsue for the blog, and to all of you who (with varying success) had a go at the puzzle. I’d actually expected it to be less hard than it clearly was, as I thought the enumerations for the multi-word answers would help. If it’s any consolation, it did make the grid fill and the cluing more difficult for me too (though I, of course, had the advantage of working backwards from the answers.)
It was my lack of knowledge of the required foreign phrases, the unknown American bar and the shopaholic heir that stopped me completing this one. I still don’t understand the latter and neither do I see where the ‘chaps’ have disappeared to in 27a – if anyone can help me out with those I’d be very grateful.
Spent an inordinate amount of time on this but the Radler fiend beat me!
Thanks to him for the challenge and to CS for the review.
27a Chaps is a verb meaning to crack, so the anagram goes inside (chaps) ‘unduly’.
26a I took shopaholic to be ‘easy come’ with ‘easy go’ being its heir (what follows).
Many thanks, Gazza, now I understand although whether I’ll remember is a very different matter!
No crosswording this weekend due to a major family invasion, which was great fun! So was this crossword when I got around to it yesterday (well, in a masochistic kind of way…). Four clues/parsings eluded me by day’s end and I made no further progress today, so logged in for CS’s sage advice to put me straight. I completely overlooked that particular bug and had tried to justify ‘rag bag’ as my pest. I had the answer for 3d but failed to unravel the word play and isolate the ‘parliament’ to be able to reference it. I wanted 25a to be AS ONE so failed to identify the musical connection. And as for 24a, I was at a complete loss! Also, like Jane, I couldn’t see the role for the ‘chaps’, so thanks to Gazza for clearing that up. Before grinding to a halt I did make 5 tick mark annotations for 14a, 17a, 18a, 21a & 2d.
Thanks, Radler, I always enjoy your fiendish puzzles (sometimes I even finish them!), and my thanks to CS for tying up the loose ends.
I usually solve puzzles from back in the archive, but this was an exception so I may as well say something. I thought this puzzle was brilliant, with so many excellent clues. It took me about 3 hours, with one mistake (I put ‘log in’ instead of ‘log on’ – sigh!). In a pool of great talent, Radler is my favourite setter here, for the challenge and ingenuity of his cluing. I know some find his puzzles a little too challenging but please don’t make them any easier, they are much appreciated here.